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5. Learn To Sometimes Let Go And Don’t Forget To Enjoy The Sport

Never forget why you are running in the first place. Qualifying for the Boston Marathon or running a new personal best are fantastic goals to hope for, but if the proverbial “road” was easy, if every workout was a cakewalk, if you ran every mile of all your tempos exactly as you planned, there wouldn’t be any purpose to it in the first place. It’s no cliché that running is all about the journey, not the destination. Don’t overanalyze your training. Sometimes things will come easy for you, sometimes they won’t. Sometimes your “easy” day will be hard for reasons unknown. Learn to let go and make peace with the fact that you’re human and that life can occasionally get in the way of your training. The thing that matters most is that you are still out there on the roads and trails.

Duncan Larkin

Duncan Larkin is a freelance journalist and author who’s been covering the sport of running for over a decade. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. He wrote the book RUN SIMPLE, and coaches runners of all abilities.
You can learn more about him here: http://roadsmillslaps.tumblr.com/about